Greenhouse construction



Sept. 12, 1933. P. L, MCKEE 1,926,159

GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 8. 1931 Patented Sept. 12, 1933 Y p 1,926,159 GREENnoUsE CONSTRUCTION l l `Philip AL. McKee, Pana, Application June 8, 1931. Serial No. 542,756

7 claims. (o1.V Lrz--rn This invention relates to greenhouseconstruction.

The primary object of the invention is to pro-,A

vide a new and improved greenhouse construetion which provides better circulation of air throughout the greenhouse, which eliminatesV shadows in the greenhouse, which permits better positioning of the greenhouse benches, which can be heated at a lower cost, and which can lbe built at a lower cost than present greenhouses.

A further object of the invention is to provideY a greenhouse which has a greater bench area as compared with the glass area than conventional greenhouses; which eliminates the use of gutters, which has a better bench arrangement permitting easy access to plants on the benches, and which is more rigid and eicient `than conventional greenhouses.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new greenhouse construction which provides a combination propagating and growing greenhouse and which has side extensions acting as struts or;.tension members for bracing the greenhouse.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout the progress lowing specification. p

The accompanying drawingv illustrates a selected embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows:

of the fol- Fig. lis a cross-sectional view ofV a greenhouse of the conventional typeand showing an arrangement of benches.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional Vview of the improvedr greenhouse showing the positioning of the benches therein.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View showing the manner in which a plurality of greenhouses of the improved construction may be connected together.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing the manner in which conventional greenhouses are connected together.

Referring vto the drawing, 5 designates the usual longitudinal ridge bar or ridge pole which extends from one end of the greenhouse to the`V other and from which the upper ends of the roof rafters 6 of the roof 7 are supported, the lower ends of these rafters being supported on the studs or side walls 8. The side walls 8 are composed of the usual spaced studs of relativelysmall dimension, and the usual glass panels. These walls are supported on the usual foundation 9 which extends upwardly from the ground 10 a distance substantially as high or slightly higher than the top ofthe conventional greenhouse benchesll.` l

AThe roof is further supported by Vtrusses or crossbeams 12 which comprise interconnected members 13. The usual gutter `lfi is arranged atV agpont Vwhere the sidewalls 8 connect with the roof '7.

VFor thepurpose of explainingthe invention, a conventional greenhouse of a particular size has been Yselected. and three benches 11 (as shown) are arranged therein, there being walks or'passages provided to permit easy access rto the plants on the benches. It will 'thus be noted that the vbench `area in the conventional greenhouse is relatively smaller as` compared 'with the glass area than the bench areaascornpared withfthe glass area in thepresent greenhouse, theV glass ,area in each Vinstance being that part ofY the greenhouse which extends above the foundation a plurality of walls. 'It is also to be pointed out that in the conventional greenhouse construction it is necessary to build'two types of greenhouses, one in which the plants are propagated, andanother in which the plants are grown. l

The present invention has material advantages over the conventional greenhouse'construction` in that the usual sidewalls 8 of thegreenhouses yare swung outwardly at a lpoint indicated at 15,`

Fig. 2, to provide an additional glass roof surface 16. While the floor area of the Vnew greenhouse is somewhat increased over the area of conven tional greenhouses, the glass'area has not been increased to any extent, if at all, while the bench area has been greatly increased. f

The greenhouse comprises a continuous unbroken glass roof land glassside walls. The roof `'7 extends in sections onl opposite sides of the central ridge bar or ridge pole .and connects .with the side walls 8 whichv are extended outwardly and uninterruptedly to provide a continuous unbroken roof. The'rafters 6 may bemade coeex- `tensive with the studding of the side walls 8 and may be made in one piece orjspliced together at the joint. While the roof,v including the side Walls, has a'hip joint, the roof` is uninterrupted, that is, one partof the roof is notoffset Vfrom the other.v ,V

The swinging out of the side walls 8, to provide additional roof surface` 16, provides additional growing compartments or rooms 17 in which additional benches ll may be arranged.

-These benches, it `will be observed by `referring to Fig. 2, are relatively close to the glass surfaceV 16 and therefore may be usedfor the purpose of propagating plants, as it is wellknown 'in this art that to 'propagate properly the plants must Zlio be relatively close to the glass. In growing, however, the plants should not be too close to the glass, and therefore the space between vthe ver- A tical walls or pila'sters 18 is used for growing purposes. v

Furthermore, in the conventional greenhouse, it is relatively hard to maintainthe proper temperature .and to `maintain .a .proper .air .circulation inside of `4the greenhouse. in the `conventional greenhouse circulates as shown by the directional arrows in Fig. 1 leaving still pockets as indicated by the arrow 19 in Fig. 1. In .the improved greenhouse much better circulation "is obtained, the air circulating as indicated rby itlre arrows shown in Fig. 2. Also, the Jpresent construction eliminates the use of gutters which were necessary in the conventional greenhouse construction. If gutters were not supplied on conventional greenhouses, the drain water 'from the "roof would .leakdownon to the .vertical .side walls of the :greenhouse `and become .frozen .in the win- -ter {timefoftenresulting inthe breakage .of glass.

In carrying out the invention it hasbeeniound Y -advantageous and-practical .that .the ,present pitch of the roof ,remains at v.about .26 from horizontal, :and the ipitch .of the .lower portion .-16 of ithe .roof be :about .38 to .45 .from horizontal. -Ilhis ,formation .of .the .roof which `comprises .the lroofproper 7 .and the .roof ,extension .1.6, .actsas a )brace when .properly .secured lto the .side walls -BJInwthe l.present l oonstruction,, however, inasmuch :as .the iroof aline .extends .down .to .the top of .thegfoun'dation walls.9, .the water will kdrip .di- :recth7 Adown .the .foundation walls. 'llhese foun- Y .dation walls :may `be vmade .of concrete, brick,

(wood, `or .any fother `desirable material.

This particular :construction `of .the roof, haviing one fpart, receding .at .a greater .anglefthan .the other ,part .and .having .the.sloping portion tied to the ,foundation walls which .are .fastened 4to the -floor,gand 'which .has .a column .fastenedto the door and the .upper part `of .the .sloping .extension, :provides .a truss .arrangement which permits za .greenhouse lto be .built .of .greater width vstl'ian I.the conventional ,greenhouses without ,in-

l releasing the weight .or .size .ofthe .members .the

side ,extension,beingtconnected -.to [the roof proper and- Lto .the Y.foundationwalls :and supported vbyl 4a relatively .light column `or pilaster, which acts in effect as struts .or tension .members,.andbraces -.the greenhouse ain @a manner .similar to guy wires.

Yby the numeral 21 in Fig. 4. YThe new construcv ..tion, therefore, in addition .to .the various ,other When a plurality `of .greenhouses .are .to .be -oonnected .together .as .is .often ,.desirable, A.the adjacent roofs ,of .adjacent greenhouses .are .sup- `.ported .onithe .foundation walls .9'., Fig. .3, and za gable .20 may `be provided to` makeaglass .en- -closure over the passageway .between lgreenhouses. .the .conyentional multiple .construc- Y tion .shown vin .F.ig. 4, .the .greenhouses are con- `neetedat .their .eaves witha gutter 14 arranged therebetween. .This .gutter must .be relatively -wide toaccommodate the drain water .from the roofs of .adjacent ,greenhouses .and cause a .shadowinside .of the .greenhouses as Vindicated p advantages, overcomes .shadows bythe eimination ,of gutters.

In .conventional greenhouses which are `coninected ,together .as shown in Fig. e, 'the space between the v.pilasters'is .usuallyllet open. `Thereore, if plantdisease 'should get Tinto one house it ,would he -very easily communicated to 'the .others If disease .is .once many ',Dat of fthe house, it is readily carried throughout-`the en'tire space, and in order to eliminate this disease the owner is obliged to fumieate and apply chemicals throughout the entire space, which may include as many as thirty or forty buildings. If the space between the houses is closed, the amount of framework and material required is very expensive and an immense amount of .shadow would be thrown .inside of` an adjoining rgreenhouse.

In order to have each house separated from 'the others the houses are usually built independ- `ent of each other so that the owner may carry different temperatures in each house and also heepfplaritidiseases isolated so that they will not .be communicated fromA one house to the other. Whenuthe vhouses are built independent of each other Lthe I.owner-.can keep the temperatures required in each house independent of any other .are used only as `passageways and have no .other value as 'they do not Yproduce anything.

`Therefore,the majority of the .greenhouses at 'the present time are built as independent units which permits control .of temperature, .control of disease,

Vvand the elimination of shadows .from the inside walls and gutters. f

With the improved 'type of greenhouses which are connectedltogether .as shown in Fig.`3, .all the vad'van'tages of separate and independent l.greenhouses are vnfianta'ined as to heating, maintenance,v .temperature control, and the 'lighting of disease. 'On'the other hand, all the disadvantages 'havebeen eliminated as '.the buildings vare rela- '.tiirely close togetherand canbe worked'inore eiciently asfthe operators do not need to travel 'from one independent buildingfto another. Also,

l the first lcost vof the improved buildings is consid.-

erably Llessfthan a plurality of 'in:lependent:build-` 'ingsv due to the 'fact that only onev small lpartition .9.is reguiredbetween houses with the .connecting `gable '29.

'Practically every grower or eral varieties and kinds'o'f flowers. flowers is always 'higherffor certain 'holidays such as Christmas, Easter, etc., and each grower tries to .arrange .his production so that 'he will a good supplyat 'these times. "If 'he is obliged to grow all of his variousy kinds'oi flowers in con- .nectedhouses `of .the 4conven tional type, as .shown in VFig-2i, hemust maintain the same temperature .throughout Due to natural causes -it often happens 'that some varieties will grow 'faster than ltlieyshould `and come .into Ybloom before theholi- .day arrives, `or they will `grow more slowly and not comeinto 'bloom until .after the holiday. If these ,particular plants `are iso'lated in an inde- ;pendent house, this condition can be controlled.

If the grower .sees that they are growing too rap- ,.'idlyQhe can keep a lower 'temperature and retard the growth, while on the other "hand if they vappear to 'be late he can force .their growth. 'This Lis .a very important thing to the producer. 'He

is unable to have anycontrol inthe ordinary type of greenhouse built as kshown in Fig. e, while with .the new construction, he can .have connected houses asshown 'in Fig. 3 and .control 'the growth in each unitfseparate fromeach other unit. At the same timejthe ygrower'has a 'low'pri'cedbuildflorist `grows sev-V The price oi -f to the plants on the benches.

ing with all ofthe advantages of the connected style of house. The saving of ground area required for buildings of the present type plus the saving of time spent in travellingfrom one unit to another is an immense item. The use of the present construction also provides full sunlight without shadows from the eaves.

For the purpose of further illustratingthein'- vention it will be assumed that the distance between the foundation walls 9 in Fig. 1, and the distance between the pilasters 18 in Fig. 2 are the same, both being 138, which width lhas been desirable in smaller greenhouses of certain types. By swinging out the walls 8 to provide the additional roof surface 16, it has been found desirable to make the dimension between the foundation wall 9 in Fig. 2, and the pilaster 18 approximately -11". Thus, ve rows of benches having 22" passageways between rows may be arranged in the new greenhouse construction without increasing the glass area of the greenhouse, while only three rows of benches with 22 passageways can be used in the'conventional greenhouse construction.

Three or four feet is the maximum width of the bench that can be used advantageouslyif access is only provided on one side. Therefore, in the greenhouse construction shown in Fig. 1 the center bench may be made 4 while the side benches are made 3', there being 22" passageways arranged between the center benches and the outside benches. Thus, in Fig. 1 the total bench area is 10 across the greenhouse. 2 the side benches 1l can be made V3-1 in width because they are free to overlap the pilasters 18. However, in order to increase the bench area within the greenhouse, two 6 benches may be arranged within the 13-8 space with a 20 passageway between the benches leaving a 22" passageway exteriorly of the end benches to permit a worker to work from both sides of the bench. This latter arrangement is impossible in the construction shown in Fig. l as there would be no passageway between the foundation walls vand the outer edges of the benches if two 6 benches were arranged in a greenhouse of that type. If two 6 benches with a 20 passageway were arranged in the greenhouse shown in Fig. 1,

there would be no end passage between the founl dation wall and the benches to permit easy access In Fig. 2, the glass surface 16 is nothing more than the glass side walls of the conventional greenhouse extended outwardly a predetermined distance. Thus, the glass area of the greenhouse shown in Fig. 2 is not increased to any extent, if at all, over the glass area of conventional greenhouses of the type shown in Fig. 1. Extra benches may therefore be arranged in the new greenhouse construction without increasing the glass area of the greenhouse. In Fig. 2 there may be 20 of benches across the greenhouse if 6 benches are arranged between pilasters 18, and passages on each side of the 6 benches are provided, while there could only be i2 of bench space in the conventional greenhouse with no end passages. Or, if the benches were arranged as shown in Fig. 1, there would be only 10 of bench surface across the greenhouse, while in Fig..2 there would be 18-,2 of bench space with convenient passages. Therefore, with the glass area remaining the same, a

greater amount of bench area is added.

The glass area greatly effects the heating of greenhouses due to the variations of temperatures on the glass. Thus, a greenhouse of larger floor In Fig.

area containing the same amount of glass will accommodate more bench area without increasing the costof heating.

Furthermore, the space between the pilasters 18` and the foundation walls is relatively` close to the glass roof v16 and provides propagation space within the regular greenhouse. Propagation spacescould not be provided'within the conventional greenhouses unlessthe benches were made vmore efficient. A greenhouse constructed in accordance with the invention overcomes the use of gutters and consequently inside shadows caused by the gutters, increases the bench area of the greenhouse without increasing the glass area, and provides for better air circulation and ventilation throughout the greenhouse. Furthermore, a greenhouse of the present type can be constructedat a cost lower than conventional greenhouses.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacricing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A greenhouse comprising a roof having a predetermined pitch, columns supportingV said roof, foundation'walls, a roof of a sharper pitch than the first named roof arranged between the columns and the foundation walls, benches arranged along the foundation walls under the sharper pitchedroof and spaced from the columns to provide a passageway between the columns and Ythe inner edges of the benches, each part of said be relatively close to thel glass roof having the greater pitch, the difference in pitch between roof i portions being less than 15.

3. A greenhouse having a continuous unbroken glass roof and glass side walls, the roof extending in sections on opposite sides of the center of the greenhouse, the pitch 'of each section of the roof being approximately 26 from horizontal, said side walls being extended 'outwardly and uninterruptedly to provide a roof portion making an angle of from 38 to 45 from horizontal and being of greater pitch than the rst named roof, walls supporting the extended side walls and columns supporting said roof.

4. A greenhouse having a glass roof and glass"- benches arrangedinwardly ofgsaidcolumns, there being. a passagewayl betweenf the benches; arranged along the foundationswalls-and.thoseare ranged inwardly' oithe columns.

5'. A greenhouse constructioncomprising a central: ridgexpolea roof for saidgreenhouse and comprising roof sections extending downwardly andioutwardly. on'opposite sidesoffthe ridge pole,

foundation, walls supporting .the endsofsai'dsections, the sections being unbroken butl having different pitches, the difference inpitches'being less tl'ianl".v

V6. A greenhousel constructionA comprising a f oundation-wall; greenhouseroof sections extending upwardly in opposite directions from said n PHILIP L. MCKEE. 

